He was a vital member and key creative force in the early success of pioneering LA hip-hop crew NWA. But rapper MC Ren has taken to Twitter to lament his diminished role in Straight Outta Compton after the blockbuster biopic took the US box office by storm this weekend.

In fact, the MC performed on seven out of the 13 tracks on NWA’s 1988 breakthrough LP, Straight Outta Compton. He also wrote four songs and co-wrote three more. By contrast Ice Cube, who with Dr Dre And Eazy-E gets more screen time in the movie, wrote five songs and co-wrote three more.

“True fans know my role in the group as far a[s] lyrics are concerned, don’t let the movie fool you about my contribution to the group,” tweeted Ren, adding: “Congrats to the cast and crew. Great job of telling our story.”

MC REN (@mcrencpt)

True fans know my role in the group as far a lyrics are concerned, don't let the movie fool you about my contribution to the group.

Ren, real name Lorenzo Jerald Patterson, was not a producer on the biopic, while Cube, Dre and Eazy-E’s widow Tomica Woods-Wright were all involved behind the scenes. Straight Outta Compton stars Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr as his father, Corey Hawkins as Dr Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren and Neil Brown Jr as DJ Yella. The film has been well-reviewed by critics and its final total represents the biggest ever August bow for an “R”-rated movie as well as the fifth biggest debut of all time for the month.

The biopic has also been praised by African American film-makers. Selma director Ava DuVernay congratulated Gray and said the film “captured the plight of the black artist in general, once consumed by systems and structures not made for them,” adding: “The struggle is real.”

Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC)

I saw @ComptonMovie last night w/ friends at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in South Central with a beautiful, alive, invested audience.